Book Blast/Review: Grimmtastic Girls by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams

About the Books: The Grimmtastic Girls

Book #1

Title: Grimmtastic Girls #1: Cinderella Stays Late | Authors: Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams | Publication Date: March 25, 2014 | Publisher: Scholastic Inc. | Pages: 192 | Recommended Ages: 8 to 12




Summary: The authors of the hit Goddess Girls series put a fun and girly twist on another super-popular theme: fairy tales!

Once upon a time, in faraway Grimmlandia...

A Grimmtastic girl named Cinderella is starting her first week at Grimm Academy on the wrong foot. Cinda's totally evil stepsisters are out to make her life miserable. The Steps tease Cinda, give her terrible advice about life at the academy, and even make her look bad in front of her new friends, Red, Snow, and Rapunzel! But when Cinda overhears the Steps plotting a villainous deed that could ruin Prince Awesome's ball, Cinda, her new friends, and a pair of magical glass slippers have to stop them--before the last stroke of midnight!


This is a great start to a fantastic new series! Cinda is starting out at Grimm Academy. She's super excited for her Balls class, hoping they'll get to play masketball, a game in which players wear masks and shoot balls through magical hoops. She only knows her stepsisters and soon makes some new friends, girls that are actually nice to her: Red, Snow and Rapunzel. There's also a new guy in school, Prince Awesome of the Kingdom of Awesomeness. The Steps tricked Cinda into taking the Balls class by leading her to believe it was sports rather than dancing. Prince Awesome is in that class and they want Cinda to talk them up to him. As time goes on, Cinda figures out what the Steps are really up to and it's up to Cinda and her friends to stop them.

I read this book with my 10-year-old daughter and we both enjoyed it. The story is familiar yet also has unique elements that make it interesting. Grimm Academy is a magical place with one textbook that changes by speaking the name of the book you're looking for, a library that changes location and size depending on the current need and magical charms that have magical powers only the owner can unlock. Grimmlandia is a place that any young girl will enjoy visiting!

My Rating=5 Stars

Book #2

Title: Grimmtastic Girls #2: Red Riding Hood Gets Lost | Authors: Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams | Publication Date: March 25, 2014 | Publisher: Scholastic Inc. | Pages: 192 | Recommended Ages: 8 to 12




Summary: Red Riding Hood might have a terrible sense of direction, but her grimmtastic friends are always there to help!

Once upon a time, in faraway Grimmlandia...

Red Riding Hood is thrilled to try out for the school play. Acting is her dream, and she's great at it--too bad she has stage fright! After a grimmiserable audition, Red decides to focus on helping her friends Cinda, Snow, and Rapunzel save Grimm Academy from the E.V.I.L. Society. But when Red gets lost in Neverwood forest and runs into Wolfgang, who might be part of E.V.I.L., she needs her magic basket and a grimmazingly dramatic performance to figure out what's going on!


The fun continues! My daughter and I also read this book together. Part of the story continues from book one (the E.V.I.L. Society), but we get to know Red better. She wants to be an actress but has stage fright. The mysterious Wolfgang, who is an amazing actor, starts paying her attention and she needs to figure out what he's up to. Does he really want to help her or is he trying to gain her trust so he can get something from her? 

I liked that we got to meet even more new characters. Again, the story was familiar but had some twists that kept it fresh and interesting. We learn more about the E.V.I.L. Society but not enough to solve the mystery so there is definitely more to come! I'm looking forward to reading more in this series as it continues (Snow's story comes out in July) and highly recommend it! 

My Rating=5 Stars

About the Authors: Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams

Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated more than 130 children's books, including Little Red Writing (illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet) and Zero the Hero. She lives in NC and is online at www.joanholub.com

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Suzanne Williams is the author of nearly 50 books for children, including the award-winning picture book Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg). She lives near Seattle, WA and is online at www.suzanne-williams.com

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Co-authors Joan and Suzanne have written the Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series. Though they live in different states and hardly ever get to see each other, they spend lots of time together in Grimmlandia.

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$50 Book Blast Giveaway

Prize: $50 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice)

Contest ends: April 23, 11:59 pm, 2014

Open: Internationally

How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the authors, Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

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